Gears of War: Night of the Locusts
by bUtCHEr pEtE
Summary: The first invasion of Landown was a disaster and no one will ever know the brave men and women who gave their lives for humanity. But for the survivors of Echo squad who are held up in a cabin, trying to find a way to esacpe from the pursuing Locusts.
1. Chapter 1

_Two weeks before Landown invasion…_

The situation was getting worst now_. Doubts flooded his mind of winning this war. Maybe a few years back the COG could have won the war over the Locust, but now…there are things that the COG had never seen before that emerged out of the Hollow; new creatures, soldiers, and weapons. _

Lieutenant Colonel Wade Kinsley walked down the empty, dim corridors of HQ, dressed in traditional Gear uniform; grey uniform, tagged with multiple rainbows of campaign ribbons, grey trousers, and a Snub pistol holstered at his hip.

He was called for a meeting and headed for Spec Ops room. As he approached the thick metal door, Kinsley got a biometrics scanning; his palm and retina. With approval, the door buzzed and hissed open.

Kinsley entered, closing the door behind him. Inside the heavy shadowed room was Chairman Richard Prescott, Command's Operation Expert Anya Stroud, and Colonel Hoffman himself, in full battle gear as usual; it was like the armor was his second skin.

The room entrance had sealed air tight, automatically. Kinsley quickly looked over his shoulder to the door, then turned his attention back to the three.

"Good evening, Lieutenant Colonel Kinsley," The Chairman said, extending out his hand.

Kinsley gripped Prescott's hand and shook. "Good evening, sir." Along with Anya's and the Colonel's.

"Sorry to pull you away from whatever you were doing," Prescott said. "But we called you here for an urgent meeting.

"We've got a mission for you." he continued. A holographic map of a city popped up from the center table.

A city surrounded by high walls was in ruins. Buildings all everywhere crumbled. Out of three dozen skyscrapers only a quarter still stood. The urban areas were deserted and columns of black smoke filled the air. This city was once known for its rich culture and love of the arts. Most of Sera's population was concentrated in Montevado.

"Montevado, sir?" Kinsley stated. "You want me to defend it?"

"No," Hoffman said. "We already have a man on that mission. We want you to lead the assault derricks to Landown while the Locusts are distracted with us."

"This operation is highly classified," Anya cut in. "So, lips are sealed once you leave this room. Understand?"

Kinsley nodded. "How many men and women are station at Montevado?" the Lieutenant Colonel asked.

"Approximately…" Prescott started and looked at both Anya and Hoffman for the answer.

"Ten thousand troops," Hoffman finished. And with a grin, he add, "I'll be the one station with our boys and girls; giving you time to reach Landown."

Again, Kinsley nodded. _I should be at Montevado when the invasion begins_, he thought. _But if the COG wants me on a mission then that's what I will do._

"Is that it, sir?" he asked.

"No," Anya said. "The reason why this mission is classified is because, we think there's a trader in the COG; giving information to the Locusts. And if we're right, that trader will either be at Montevado, where they won't know about the operation or with the assault derrick; giving them all the information they need; location, ETA, and our strength."

"That seems like a big stretch, ma'am," Kinsley said. "If it is true-"

He voice cutoff. All the pieces started to fit together. The falls of Jilane, Berephus and Tollen. _This couldn't be a coincidence…_

"I understand," he nodded. "When will the invasion begin?"

"In two weeks," the three said in unison.

"You will be riding with Echo squad," Hoffman said. "Alan Bane is your driver's name. But just call him Al."

Kinsley nodded. "Is that all?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel." Prescott said. "You are dismissed."

"Aye aye, sir," Kinsley snapped to attention and saluted his superiors.

The metal door automatically unlocked and Kinsley exited the room. Walking through the deserted corridors, back to his office, Kinsley would have never thought of a trader in the COG. Why would one of their own betray the human race? And to the race that wanted to wipe out all humanity? Were they being rewarded? The grant of their families' safety? Or was all for greed?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Prescott looked to Anya and Hoffman with fatigue in his eyes.

"No one will ever know what happened to these men," he said, "if this operations goes wrong."

"Yes. But it's all for the sake of humanity, sir," Anya reassured. "This operation is going to be the first of many that is going to be a disaster. You might as well give a speech to those who are headed to Landown, sir."

Prescott nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

_Landown invasion…_

The trees splintered under the force of the massive rigs; engines roared like lions as they made their way through the endless forest. The entire COG invasion force was composed of twenty thousand armed and suited Gears, hundreds of assault derricks, King Raven gunships and the whole 10th Centaur division escorting the derricks.

Lieutenant Colonel Kinsley stood at the head of the rig. His hands gripped on the railing, his eyes were locked on the rising sun. He stood in thought as the beautiful orange luminous glow from the underbelly of the clouds sparkled in his eyes.

_So far so good_, he thought. _The Locusts haven't been alerted to our presence…yet. _

"_Sir, grindlifts are within ten miles," _Al said through Kinsley's earpiece. _"ETA in two hours." _

"Roger that, Al," Kinsley replied. "Give me an update when we're within five miles. Over."

"_Roger that, sir. Out." _

To Kinsley's left, there was a woman laying on a pillow of clouds. Under her was the name "**Trish**" in bold letters.

_At least not everyone had lost their humanity_, he grinned. _Humanity… That word would mean a whole lot when this invasion is a success. _

On deck were the 3rd Alpha company, nearly forty Gears, and Spec Ops unit, Echo squad.

The company of Gears spent their time either looking over the railings, prepping up for the invasion or chatting to their fellow comrades.

But as for Echo squad, they sat quietly and coolly, watching the Alphas. One of the Echo members turned their head to Kinsley's direction; the soulless expression of the mask gave a small chill up his spine.

Composed of Echo squad was Major Dixon, Captain Sheppard, Lieutenant Jacob, Gunnery Sergeant Cruise, Staff Sergeant White, Lance Corporal Culshaw, Corporal Colton, Corporal Brandon, Private First Class Alyssa and Corpsman Turner.

Even if none of the Echoes had removed their helmets, Kinsley had already told them apart.

The Major was the only one with a Gnasher shotgun. Sheppard carried a Scorcher flamethrower, and the Lieutenant carried most of the equipment. The Gunnery was the biggest Gear on deck, nearly the size of a Berserker. The Staff Sergeant was the heavy gunner and had a portable Mulcher for his primary weapon, and the Lance Corporal was the squad's sniper and scout. Corporal Colton always displayed his COG tag proudly around his neck and Corporal Brandon always played around with his combat knife, twirling it around his gauntlet fingers. PFC Alyssa was the smallest Gear on deck and the Corpsman had a red cross on his left bicep.

"_Sir, Chairman Prescott is making an announcement on COG broadcast, now." _Al radioed in.

Kinsley nodded then tuned in to the broadcasting.

"_We had hoped the Lightmass bombing at Timgad would decimate the Locust Horde, but they survived, and returned stronger than ever. They've brought with them a force that can sink entire cities._

"_Even Jacinto, our last beacon of hope through all these dark days, is now at risk. Soon we'll have nothing left to defend and that means we only have one option: Attack!_

"_Gears, what I ask of you now is not an easy thing, but it is necessary. If we are to survive, if we are to live long enough to see the seasons pass, our children grow, and experience a time of peace that we have never known, we must now take this fight to the Locusts._

"_We will go to where they live and where they breed and we will destroy them!_

"_This is the day we take the battle to the heart of the enemy! This is the day we correct the coarse of human history! This is the day we ensure our survival as a species!_

"_Soldiers of the COG, my fellow Gears, go forth and bring back the hope of humanity!… And Godspeed." _

An uproar from the other derricks alerted Kinsley.

_Little do they know is that broadcast was made private, _he grimaced.

"_Sir, we're within five miles from Landown," _Al reported. _"ETA in an hour." _

"Roger," Kinsley confirmed, giving Al a thumbs up. "Keep up the good work. "

Taking a look up at the sky, Kinsley spotted dozens of dots hovering above.

"What the…" Kinsley squinted, struggling to make out the distant objects.

Culshaw sat looking at the deck. After hearing the Lieutenant Colonel's statement, he peered up the sky and had also spotted the dots. He slowly rose and shouldered his Longshot sniper rifle, sighting through the optical scope.

Immediately he lowered his rifle, and shouted, "Nemacyst!"

With piercing shrieks, the living explosives jetted forward, leaving behind the columns of black smog entrails. They sped up, targeting the leading rig.

"Open fire!" Kinsley shouted before shouldering his Lancer rifle and emptying a clip at the inbound enemy motors.

Bullets tore through the air, whistling pass the saboteurs. An Alpha manned the Mulcher turret on the raised platform and without bothering to aim, he let loose a hail of projectiles into the sky.

Random explosions filled the sky causing the rest of the Nemacysts to disperse, targeting the other vehicles.

Like a raining barrage of comets, the Nemacysts exploded on their targets or near them; derricks, tanks and flying gunships alike were hit. One of the Locust saboteurs had made it pass the hissing bullets and dove on to Al's rig, obliterating two Alpha members and sent thousands of bone fragments to pierce Gear armor.

Half of the Gears in Alpha company dropped to the deck, screaming in pain.

Kinsley kept up his fire, ignoring the cries of death behind him. He suddenly duck as a Nemacyst flew in low, nearly taking his head. He spun quickly and fired at the creature.

After being hit the beast crashed against a tree.

In the sky the King Ravens stood no chance against the saboteurs.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Where the Nemacysts had been waiting before were now the Man-eaters Calvary; the Locust Hordes most infamous Reaver Riders.

They watched the onslaught, laughing at the carnage below and anxious to get into the fight.

Loko, the leader of the Man-eaters, was silent while watching the humans dying under their stupidity.

_They rolling into unknown territory, without scouting the land, _he thought. _This is their downfall… _

He puffed out his chest and swung a war club over his head, then roared out a battle cry!

"_The time is now! It's time to kill the infidels!" _

Loko spurred his mount forward; his beast letting out a monstrous call, then obeyed its master.

The other Riders urged their beasts forward, howling barbarically and followed their leader.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Staff Sergeant White looked up to the sky and spotted the new threat diving toward them.

"Reavers!"

He raised the barrels of the Mulcher Gatling gun to the sky. The rotating barrels slowly spun until spilling out bullets, unleashing hell.

The Alpha on the turret ignored the remaining Nemacysts and targeted the inbound Beast Riders, screaming as he fired.

Like the Nemacysts, the Reaver Riders veered left and right, dodging as many projectiles as they could.

"We need air support!" Kinsley shouted in his throat mic. "We're under attack!"

"_Copy that, Lieutenant Colonel," _a woman replied. _"King Ravens inbound, ETA in thirty seconds." _

_Kinsley had no time to respond. The Locust Calvary began to circle around the convoy. They taunted the COG, firing off a few rounds, snatching up Gears and lifting them up hundreds of feet into the air, only to drop them back to earth. _

_Captain Sheppard tucked and rolled before the massive jaws of a Reaver could take his head. He recovered, taking cover behind the armored plating of the rails and prepared the flamethrower. As another Reaver came in close, Sheppard spat out a lance of flames from his Scorcher. _

_The Godforsaken beast veered off, squealing, and disobeyed its master's commands. _

_Culshaw took careful aim through the Longshot's scope, not letting any of the chaos distract him. Slowly squeezing the trigger, the Longshot crackled and the bullet hit a Reaver Rider off his beast. Grinning, the Lance Corporal took aim and successfully shot another rider off his mount. _

_The sound of the King Ravens' rotors boomed over head. Chain guns began to fire and rockets launched straight ahead. _

_The Riders urged their mounts forward, ready to ram the choppers. _

_Seconds later the two sky cavalries collided, and a whole new battle erupted in the air. _

_Major Dixon was reloading his shotgun, when he stopped. Distant trees snapping and shifted. _

_His heart nearly skipped a beat as he thought of what lied ahead. But then colossal moans confirmed his fear. _

"_Brumak!" _


	3. Chapter 3

The tree lines parted and the first group of Brumaks marched out. Every assault derricks began to disperse from the lead rig, hoping to steer away from the threat.

"All derrick pilots, do not separate," Kinsley shouted in his throat mic. "Stick together!"

Al peered through the side viewport, seeing that he wasn't the lead rig anymore. Several other derricks began to sped up, passing him.

He shielded his eyes as a nearby carrier exploded. He could see the crew aflame and jumping off the deck, disappearing in the forest below. The irg itself suddenly tipped over.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Grong thrust the butt of his rifle in the face of a human; its fragile jaw bone popped out of place. The human crashed to the metal deck, groaning in pain. Grong looked down at it with disgust at the filthy creature.

Placing the thick sole of his combat boot on the human's head, he said, "What a plague you are!" And without any force, Grong crushed its head like a walnut. With a crunch the human's head popped, gore and brain matter stuck onto the bottom of his boot.

Grong's and a squad of companions had taken control of the human vessel; with markings he couldn't read-**H**-**E**-**A**-**T**-**H**-**E**-**R**.

An uproar of howls of triumph erupted behind Grong. He looked back to see his comrades waving their weapons in the air.

"Humans!" One of Grong's squad mates shouted, pointing at another nearby human vessel.

On the side of the vessel was a human female laying on several clouds, and under her were a series of more unreadable markings; **T**-**R**-**I**-**S**-**H**.

"Bring us about," he barked at the new pilot.

Grong slung his rifle and removed a bundle of rope from his shoulder. At the end of the rope was a three pronged hook. Six of his comrades followed his demonstration.

The Locust pilot of the "**HEATHER**" spun the wheel frantically, intending on ramming the newest human vessel.

Whirling the grappling hook, the Locusts gave a powerful throw. With succession, they had hooked on the railings.

Grong gripped the rope firmly, every muscle in his biceps tightened. And with a battle cry, he leapt off the conquered vessel and slammed hard against the hull of the next vessel.

Grinning, Grong began to pull himself up. Anxious to prove himself farther, the Locust soldier grabbed on to the railing and pulled himself up, with a grin still stretched on his face. But his bloodlust had disappeared as he saw the barrel of a Gnasher shotgun greeting him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Major Dixon displayed a grin as the first Locust Drone tried to board **TRISH**. He pulled the trigger of his shotgun and the Drone's head vanished in a mist of gore; blood and brain matter staining the Major's armor.

A squad of Drones began to board the rig. As soon as the thick soles of their boots landed on deck, they began to emptied the magazines of their rifles.

Gears of Alpha company started to drop like flies.

An Alpha next to Sheppard had received a bullet between his eyes. With only a quick hesitation, the Captain unleashed another jet of flame from his Scorcher. The invading Drones dropped their weapons and ran around the deck in screaming agony; four of them jumped into the ocean of green below, the remaining two had been fill with Lancer rounds.

Staff Sergeant White mounted the Mulcher gun on to the railing and aimed at the Locust driver. Then the Gatling gun's barrels began to rotated and a hail of projectiles spat out, shredded the enemy pilot into pieces. The derrick's speed reduced and it veered off to the left.

Kinsley ran to the back of the rig, witnessing the other derricks still being harassed by the Reaver Riders.

Al gave a sigh of relief. "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel! We made it! I think we're gonna make it to Landown safe an' sound."

A pair of trees twenty meters ahead parted and a Brumak stepped out into the open. It looked around until bearing sights on TRISH. Posturing itself in a charging stance it let out a massive roar.

"Oh, so ya wanna play, eh?" Al narrowed his eyes at the beast.

The rig began to pick up speed.

Kinsley turned his attention to the front of the derrick. His eyes widened, and he shouted into his throat mic, "Al, what the hell are you doing?!"

But their was no response.

The Brumak's targeting system locked onto the rig; missiles were armed and ready to fire.

"Everyone brace yourself!"

Corpsman Turner threw himself onto the wounded Alphas. Echo squad and the rest of the Alphas wrapped their arms around the railings.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Al gripped the wheel, intending on ramming the beast.

A series of hisses caused Kinsley to look up. A deafening roar of defeat escaped from the Brumak as three missiles impacted against its chest. And the beast stumbled backwards until finally crashing to the ground.

The thunderous rotors of a King Raven circled above TRISH.

"_Hey, the names Brent," _the pilot's voice responded from Kinsley's earpiece. _"Warrent Officer Brent. You need firepower, you call me, alright? Now, what can I do for you today?"_

Before the Lieutenant Colonel could answer, Corpsman Turner spoke, "Yeah, you could get these wounded off the deck."

"_Copy that," _Brent replied. _"Anything else?" _

"That would be all," Kinsley said. "Just get the wounded back to Jacinto."

"_Roger that, sir."_

The gunship slowly lowered until it hovered a meter from the rig's deck. Immediately, the remaining Alphas boarded their wounded comrades onto the chopper.

With a thumbs up from the Corpsman, Brent ascended the King Raven back to the sky.

"I'll be back, Lieutenant Colonel Kinsley," he said, and head south.

The distant explosions caused the Alphas and Echo squad to run to the rear of the rig. All could see the black mushroom smokes rising from different derricks, kilometer away. There were a few falling into the earth.

"What's happening to those rigs there?" PFC Alyssa pointed.

"Corpser holes," the Gunnery said. "Those poor bastards." he referred to the Gears on the other derricks, then saluted them.

"If there are any rigs with surviving Gears," Kinsley said through his throat mic, "proceed to Landown. I repeat, proceed to Landown."

But there was no response, Kinsley didn't except any, though.

_So there is a traitor amongst us_, he thought. _But who, and on what rig? _

The Lieutenant Colonel looked back up in the sky with distraught. Combing his hand through his stained hair, he began to wonder what he had done wrong; all those Gears under his command were now lost. Only a handful of Alphas were alive, along with Echo squad.

He sighed. The only thing giving him peace now were the untamed clouds above. They sat motionless in the morning rise. But suddenly his heart sank as he spotted another dot in the sky.

Squinting, he tried to make it out.

The speck was only motionless for a second, then shooting forward it left behind a recognizable column of smoke.

The object redirected itself; its heading was for TRISH!

"Nemacyst!"


	4. Chapter 4

The Nemacyst swayed from side to side, dodging every projectile hissing pass. It began to pick up speed, nearly two kilometers per second.

"Kill it!" Kinsley shouted. The Lancer's butt kicking against his shouted as he emptied his clip in an effort to kill the saboteur.

Ever Gear unleashed hell upon the kamikaze. But the Nemacyst wasn't aiming for the deck…

It continued to dive until coming close to the tree line, then it shot straight forward, letting out a death shriek.

Al's eyes widened, he braced himself for the incoming impact. The Nemcacyst exploded, taking out the entire cockpit, and Al. Pieces of the thick viewport and metal scraps began to rain down. And the derrick started to steer off coarse; turning left, crushing down trees in its path.

"What now, sir?" The Major said.

"We wait for Brent to return," Kinsley responded. "He'll-"

An echoing moan cut him off. More trees shifted; swaying left and right. Another Brumak came into view. It spotted the derrick and armed its missiles.

"Everyone jump!"

Without thinking twice, the Gears grabbed what ever equipment they could get and jumped off the twenty foot high rig. At that moment a trio of rockets jetted out from the launcher, and in seconds they hit the vessel, sending it on its side.

The surviving soldiers got to their feet and scrambled for cover; hiding behind tree trunks or diving into the thick undergrowth.

The Brumak, looking premature for its size, advanced toward the overturned rig. It started to look around for any survivors, but without finding anything it began to sniff the air for human flesh. The beast smacked trees out of its way; they snapped and splintered, falling to the floor.

Three Alpha members poked their heads out of the undergrowth, looking around for any of their comrades…and spotted Major Dixon. He was crouched behind a tree trunk, opposite from the Brumak.

From the corner of his eye, the Major also spotted the Alphas. With a series of hand signals, he told them to keep low.

With the thought of death only a few meters away, one of the Alphas disobeyed his orders and took a chance. Popping out from cover he sprinted to the Major's position, making little noise as possible; with his two companions following close behind.

The hulking monster turned its attention when a twig snapped; one of the Alphas had stopped paying attention to the ground, only staring ahead. It raised an arm with a mounted machine gun and took aim. The barrels of the cannon rotated, and within a second a hell storm of orange projectiles tore the trio of Alphas apart. Nothing remained but meat and bone.

Dixon looked away. But he soon realized that this was an opportunity to escape. Keeping low, he ran from tree to tree, hoping not to alert the monstrous enemy.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Where the fuck is everybody?!" Colton shouted.

The group was now composed of Sheppard, Lieutenant Jacob, Gunnery Cruise, Staff Sergeant White, Lance Corporal Culshaw, Corporals Colton and Brandon, PFC Alyssa, the Corpsman and two Alpha members, Corporals Winters and Harper.

Those who were missing were Lieutenant Colonel Kinsley, Major Dixon and six other Alphas.

"What's the plan now?"

Everyone looked to Sheppard; the new leader of the squad.

With a sigh, the Captain answered, "We proceed to Landown. Now, let's move. I doubt that Brumak will stop looking."

The group nodded, in unison, and gathered up their equipment, following behind the scout, Culshaw. The Staff Sergeant took up the rear.

A cluster of clouds hung in the sky. Would it rain?

_Please don't rain_, Sheppard pleaded.

He and the group continued to follow the leader. Their eyes keeping cautious of the heavy foliage of the forest.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There was a sharp pain emanating from Kinsley's back shoulder blades. His eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up. Looking over his shoulder he spotted the cause of the pain.

A piece of shrapnel had pierced his armor and was embedded in his skin, and possibly his bone. Kinsley searched around and found a thick twig. Picking it up he placed it in his mouth and bit down hard as he pulled out the metal. He gave a low groan in his succession.

The last thing he remembered was being thrown into the air when the missiles had hit the rig.

The Lieutenant Colonel could not find his Lancer, but he still had his Snub pistol holstered and combat knife sheathed. _These two would have to do. _

Getting to his feet, Kinsley heard the moans of the Brumak in the distance. There was no time for pain.

_I better find any survivors before anything happens to them_, he thought. _Better keep watch of Locust patrols too. _

He then ran off, hoping to be sheltered by the shrubs.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Culshaw made his way out of the undergrowth and into a clearing. He walked with easy but his senses and instinct were sharp.

Suddenly there was a snap in front of the Lance Corporal, and he immediately took defensive position. Crouching low and shouldering his Longshot and aiming at the foliage ahead.

Lieutenant Jacob was the first from the group to emerge at the edge of the clearing, but halted as Culshaw signaled to him. The Lieutenant turned around and passed on the word, and he too crouched down.

Culshaw turned his attention back to the foliage, sighting through the scope.

The bushes and shrubs shook. A minute later a figure came into view, and the Lance Corporal lowered his weapon.

"So, your not dead yet, sir," he said as he approached the Major.

"Where's the rest of the squad, Corporal?" Dixon asked.

Culshaw turned and blew a whistle. In that instant the Major witnessed a handful of Gears raise from the undergrowth. He smiled to see all his members still alive, but his expression when blank with a couldn't find Kinsley.

"The Lieutenant Colonel isn't with you?" he took note.

"No, sir. And we're missing six of our comrades as well." Winters said. "We've got to go back and find 'em!"

Dixon looked at the masked Gear. "I'm sorry, son, but you're only missing three companions."

Winters took a step back, knowing what that meant.

"Culshaw, you and Brandon search for the Lieutenant Colonel." The Major ordered. "When you find them, or any of the other Alphas, head east. Straight for Landown."

"Aye aye, sir!" The two saluted.

"With your permission, sir," Winters interrupted, "I would like to go with the two Corporals."

Major Dixon thought for a moment, then finally nodded.

The three then sprinted off, disappearing in the thick foliage.

"The rest of you, follow me," Dixon said. "And keep frosty."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: (scoffing) Sorry this chaps short. Enjoy… I guess.**

The Gear lay several meters away, faced down…and motionless. _Odd… _His rifle was undisturbed, but from this distance, the Lieutenant Colonel couldn't see the Gear's combat knife. So with curiosity, Kinsley slowly approached, but cautious of every trunk that was wide enough to conceal a Drone.

_Could this be a trap?_ He wondered grimly.

As he approached, he crouched down and turned the Gear over. And covered his mouth, desperately tried to hold back his gag reflex.

The Gear's face had been smashed in.

Kinsley returned to the situation at hand. Spotting the Lancer once again, he grabbed it and fished out any magazines from the Gear's belt pouch. Then finally, he snatched the COG tag from the Gear's neck.

"I'm sorry this had to happen to you," he stuffed the tag in one of his belt pouches. And with that, Kinsley headed off.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"You think it belongs to the Lieutenant Colonel?" Winters asked.

The three were huddled around a pool of blood.

"Maybe," Brandon said. "Or an Alpha."

Winters shot a glare at Brandon, but said nothing.

"Or an animal," Culshaw cut in. "Believe it or not, this place is a forest, not a battle field. Nature still does its coarse here. But just to be safe, spread out and search the area. Met back here in five minutes."

Both Corporals nodded and drifted in their separate direction.

Culshaw slowly walked away from the rendezvous point, his Longshot at the ready. He continued until stopping in a small clearing; shrubs encircled him.

A brow rose as he spotted a boot print deep in the soft soil. Culshaw crouched down to observe it more.

"Locusts," he whispered.

Suddenly, his ear twitched to the sound of brushes shuffling. Instinctively, Culshaw spun around and fell on a knee, with Longshot leveled.

"Wow! Don't shoot!" Brandon held up both hands in defense.

Culshaw sighed with frustration, and lowered his weapon. "What the… You trying to get yourself killed?! What are you doing here?"

Brandon lowered his hands, and with sorrow eyes he threw a COG tag to the Lance Corporal's boots.

"That was all I was able to find."

"Where the Alpha?" Culshaw asked as he picked up the tags.

"He's probably still searching the area." the Corporal said. "Hey if we're lucky he's probably-"

A multitude of twirls passed by the Lance Corporal's head, and a loud blunt cut off Brandon. Culshaw's eyes darted to the Corporal who was staring at a stone-head hatchet embedded in the center of his breast plate. Blood began to run down his armor.

Brandon's breathing began to skip. His eyes rolled in the back of his head, and his body dropped to the forest floor.

"Shit!" Rushing over to his fallen comrade, he put both index and middle finger on the Corporal's neck, and Culshaw hoped to get a pulse. But Brandon was dead.

He quickly took up defensive position, moving to the nearest tree, two meters from the Corporal's body. All round twigs snapped and shrubs rustled.

A bulky figure, four meters away, ran across Culshaw's line of fire; running from tree to tree. His Longshot crackled, but he had missed. Whatever it was, it continued to stalk around the lone sniper…laughing.

Knowing his sniper rifle was slow in rate of fire, Culshaw drew out his next best weapon; his Snub sidearm. Keeping his senses sharp, he kept low, waiting for an opportunity. And let came sooner then expected…

Loud approaching stomps, followed by an inhuman whizzing, caused Culshaw to roll out of the way of a stone-head club. It nearly missed his head by an inch. Regaining in the kneeling stance, he quickly fired off five rounds.

The hulky humanoid figure grunted and stumbled deep into the foliage.

Culshaw had never seen anything like it before. It was the size of a Boomer, but it wasn't… It was a Drone. Nevertheless, he knew three of his shots had hit the creature.

When he looked back to Brandon's body, his eyes widen to find nothing but a trail of blood leading into the forest.

"Fuck!" Culshaw slammed his fist against a tree.

Another twig snapped, and he spun around, firing off another three rounds.

The Lancer dropped to the ground and Corporal Winters looked down at the two holes in his armor. A second later blood began to leak out. His watering eyes looked back up to the Lance Corporal with a confused expression.

"Why…?" was the only word to escape Winters' mouth before falling to the floor.

Cursing to himself, again, Culshaw rushed over to the Alpha and placed both fingers on his neck, and was surprised at the result.

Winters was still alive.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Yo all my readers. I just wanted to say thanks to all who been reading. But I'm sad to say this isn't my best chapter. Oh God i just hope it's good enough. And…**

**There are many inspiring elements to this story: Dog Soldiers, Night of the living Dead, Wrong Turn, and the Hills have Eyes. Just wanted to put it out there…**

**_________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

"What was that?" PFC Alyssa asked.

An echoing crackle hung in the air.

"A Longshot," Corpsman Turner answered. "But it's strange…"

"What?" she asked.

"This forest's extremely quiet," Turner continued. "I haven't heard a single sound of life in here. No birds chirping, no deer's calling nor even the howling of wolves. This forest is completely dead."

"That's no surprise," Sheppard cut in. "After the Locust had emerged, life everywhere began to die."

"But look at this place. It's untouched." Turner pointed out the obvious. "It's undisturbed…"

Major Dixon had sent both Corporals Colton and Harper to scout ahead. But it had been over twenty minutes since he had any radio contact…

"_Major," _Colton radioed in. _"You'd better take a look at this." _

"What is it, Corporal?" Dixon responded.

"_I think you need to take a look for yourself, sir." _

"What is your location, Corporal?"

"_Twenty meters east, sir." _

"Roger that. We're on our way. Over and out." He then turned to the squad, and said, "The scouts have found something. Let's get to their position."

As the Major lead the way, his team sprint close behind him.

The foliage began to thin. Then finally, they halted at the edge of a mass clearing.

Fifteen meters away stood a perfectly, intact, cabin. Ten meters to the cabin's left was a stall house and a corral. And another ten meters to the structures right was a barn.

"What is this place?" the Staff Sergeant asked.

"A place time forgot," the Gunnery answered.

The sight gave a bit of humanity back to the Gears. The large cabin hadn't been touched by the tyranny of the world; neither by the Pendulum wars or by E-day.

"I've always wanted to live in a place like this," Alyssa admitted suddenly.

The only person not stolen by the scenery was the Major. From the corner of his eye he saw two figures sprinting from the corral towards the squad's position.

Both Colton and Harper halted and saluted the Major. Then made their report.

"We've made a full sweep around the perimeter, sir," Colton said. "The stalls are empty and the corral looks like it has been used in months."

"What about the barn?" the Major asked.

"It's lock, sir," Colton reported. "I would have opened it, but I didn't want to alert any patrolling Locust." he patted his Lancer's chainsaw.

"And the cabin?"

Both Corporals looked back to the house. Their brows rose to see the cabin's door open.

"We haven't entered it, sir."

Dixon gave a snort, then spat out the thick piece of mucus. "Gunnery, Staff Sergeant, you two are my point men. Clean the cabin and give us the signal when things are cleared."

Both Sergeants looked to each other, then nodded back to the Major.

White swapped weapons with Colton. He tucked two extra Lacer magazines in his belt pouch and cocked the rifle. Satisfies he gave a thumbs up to the Gunnery.

With a quick sigh from Cruise, the two sprinted across fifteen meters of clearing, none of them gave a second to slow. The two Gears slammed hard against the side of the entrance.

Cruise poked his head threw the opening and quickly pulled back. He gave a series of hand signals to White; ordering him to enter first. The Staff Sergeant nodded and crouched low.

The Lancer's muzzle entered first, sweeping left and right. White slowly crept in; the floor boards under his boots creaked. He entered the heavy shadowed living room.

The air was thick with dust. Spears of light pierced through holes in the curtain, revealing the particles whirled in the air.

The Staff Sergeant took note of the room, seeing a dusty couch, TV, shelf, and a coffee table.

White gave a whistle, indicating "clear".

The Gunnery entered next. His rifle aimed up at the staircase that was positioned in front of the doorway. He slowly advanced up the steps, to the second floor.

There was a narrow corridor with four doors, two on either side of the walls. Light pelted through the open doors on the leftside.

A floor board creaked and a shadow moved in the nearest room.

"Hello?" The Gunnery leveled his Lancer and advanced to the hall.

As he walked through the threshold of the room, Cruise lowered his rifle. To his aspect, the room was a children room. With a bunk bed and another small bed under the window, a shelf and a locked chest, desk and pictures of a family.

The door behind Cruise creaked closed. A rifle cocked and the Gunnery turned around to see a Lancer's muzzle pointed at his face.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Major waited for any signal from the two Sergeants.

"What do you think's taking so long?" Alyssa asked. But her question hung in the air.

A minute later a figure stepped out of the house and waved an arm above his head.

"All clear," Dixon said. "Let's move, Gears."

He lead the way to the cabin.

The Major entered first, with easy. He was surprised to be greeted by, not two, but three Gears. The Gunnery, Staff Sergeant and…the Lieutenant Colonel.

"Good afternoon, Major." Kinsley extended out his hand.

The Major looked at the out reached hand for a second, then shook it. He would have preferred saluting his higher commander.

"We thought we lost you, sir."

Kinsley chuckled. "Funny. I thought I lost you."

"Have you run into any Echoes or Alphas?"

"No," Kinsley said. "Why? Are there still some out there?"

"I've seen the Lance Corporal and Corporals Brandon and Winters to look for you and the other Alphas."

Kinsley looked to the ground with distraught. He then pulled out a pair of COG tags from his belt pouch.

They were immediately snatched from his hand by Harper. The Corporal read the identifications on the tags.

_Captain James Moore and Corpsman Troy Vander. _

"That means there's still an Alpha out there!" Alyssa exclaimed.

The Corpsman shut the door. "What do we do now, sir?"

"We wait," Kinsley said, "until the search team rendezvous with us. Then we head for Landown. But for now we hold up here. Check all rooms, the basement, and find all possible exits to this place."

In unison, Echo squad snapped to attention, and replied, "Sir! Yes, sir!"

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**A/N: Again, not my best chapter. Haaaaa!!! Sorry. Next one will be better, I promise. Oh and if I've made any mistakes, just tell. Later**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm introducing a few new characters. Locust characters. Hope it's all good. **

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_We are the children you reject and discard… You threw us away like broken toys; never to pay any attention to us again. _

_But every day we prove our love to you, Mother. All of us know what you had to do just to keep the family strong. _

_We do hope you come to the surface one day. Things are beautiful up here on the surface…just like Julia…_

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Magnus sat on a tree stump, touching the wounds on his back. He whimpered at the stings of the embedded projectiles; earlier received from the human.

Sitting on another stump, across from him, was his older brother, Brute. He pushed off from his seat and quickly made his way to Magnus.

"That's w'at ya get, ya lil' child!" he spat and raised a clenched fist.

Magnus shut his eyes and instinctively shielded himself from Brute's rage.

Brute scowled at Magnus for making that child-like face when terrified, and lowered his threatening fist. Magnus peaked through the spaces between his fingers and saw his bother lowering his arm. And immediately returned to his childish self.

Magnus may be the youngest in the family, but he surely wasn't the smallest; he was tall and built as a mountain; standing roughly seven feet and had muscles as solid as boulders. But beneath all this unpredictable power was only a child.

The sound of snapping twigs alerted the two. They turned to see a hooded figure approaching and quickly searched for their weapons but stood to attention when the new arrival pulled back the cloak. Both Brute and Magnus eased to the sight of their oldest brother, Trio.

"Where's Solemn?" he asked, referring to their fourth brother.

The two looked to each other and shrugged.

"You know Solemn," Brute remarked, "He loves huntin' on his own."

A brown sack dangled at Trio's belt. He cut it from his belt and pulled out its content. In his hand was the head of a human. He then tossed it at his bothers' feet.

"There're intruders in our home." Trio said. "Get the family ready. It's time for hunting."

With a wicked grin, Brute howled to the sky and ran off into the forest.

Magnus was ready to follow but was stopped.

"Magnus!" Trio shouted. "Mother has other plans for us."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Loko had been summoned to the throne room. Never before in his life had he thought of being in the presence of Queen Myrrah.

As he approached the entrance a pair of Theron Sentinel halted him. They were flanking the double metal doors and both were armed with Torque bows. They asked for his purpose and he told them the Queen had summoned him. They looked to one another, then nodded with acceptance.

The hinges on the doors creaked and popped. Loko walked into the massive chamber. Each of his footsteps echoed off the walls, only to return back to him.

He walked close to one of the support columns and took pride at the stories etched in the stone. The hieroglyphics told of the endless war on the other tribes and clans for the right of the palace those many thousands of years ago.

Loko's head slowly turned to the head of the chamber. He saw the amusing eyes of Queen Myrrah staring back at him. Loko quickly approached the Queen and fell on a knee.

"You've done us all pride, Loko, by demoralizing the human forces." She said.

The Calvary leader nodded, but kept his gaze to the floor. He knew full well that his eyes were not worthy of such beauty.

"But there is another task I ask of you."

"Anything, Your Hyenas," Loko stated.

"We have a Locust sympathizer in the human army. He has been reporting in useful information and his current location. I want you to give him our reward for his service." Myrrah informed. "He is implanted with one of our trackers. Retrieve the tracker and bring it back it me. And gather only your best. Do not fail me… Loko."

He straighten his posture and slammed his fist against his chest.

"If the Queen wishes it, so it shall be done." He turned and departed from the chamber.


	8. Chapter 8

If Control or Command knew what he was doing they would chew his ass for breakfast. But Warrant Officer Brent already had foreknowledge about his fate. He lowered the chopper near the overturned derrick and silenced the rotor.

On the side of the rig he read **TRISH**.

He drew out his Snub pistol and checked the magazine. Satisfied, Brent slapped the mag back into the receiver and holstered his sidearm.

_Why the hell am I doing this? _

He slowly entered the forest with that grim thought gnawing at the back of his mind. But he couldn't just leave Echo squad here to die.

Back in the cockpit the comm channels were static with Gears from the convoy still under attack.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Ops Center, COG Head Quarters, Jacinto-**

Anya sat in the bitter darkness; only the light from the display screen lightened up the room. She and the rest of the staff listened in on the onslaught of the remaining Gears of the invasion force.

The Ops room doors hissed open and Chairman Prescott and Colonel Hoffman walked in.

"What is the status on the operation?" Prescott asked. "Have they made it to Landown yet?"

For a minute the only response he got was a cold dead silence. Then finally, Anya removed her headset and said, "The entire force is gone, sir."

A sudden ache hit Prescott at his heart. He nearly clenched his chest but checked himself. _This was no time to look weak, he told himself. _

"_The population cannot know about this, sir." Hoffman cut in. "If they got a sniff of this defeat the war against the grubs would be over. This operation must be kept secret." _

"_And what about the Gears' families?" Prescott asked, nearly thrown back by Hoffman's solution. "Won't they ask questions?" _

"_This is war, sir." The Colonel said. "MIA is no stranger to war. We will have a private ceremony for the soldiers who lost their lives today." _

"_I'm sure there are survivors still out there." The Chairman said. "We should send out search and rescue choppers-"_

"_There's no doubt," Hoffman cut him off. "But we can't risk the birds." _

"_Sir, the Colonel's right." Anya said. "We can't afford loosing any more helicopters and letting the population get suspicious." _

"_Damn it!" Prescott slammed his fists hard on the center data table. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Those poor men and women just lost their lives and no one will ever remember them." _

"_Not true, sir," Hoffman said, standing tall. "The COG will remember 'em; each and every one of 'em." _

_The staff all turned their attention to the Chairman and nodded. This gave Prescott a little bit more hope. He nodded back. _

_Suddenly, the ear piercing alarms sounded and the dark Ops room was lit by the flashing red hue light bulbs. The Horde were attacking again. _


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, I basically started pulling things out of my ass for this chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

The sky had been pissing rain down for an hour now. But it was only a minute ago that the weather lightened up to sprinkles.

His eyes were sharp as a hawks, scanning the area ahead while in prone position in the undergrowth. He had recently come across a convoy traveling on a dirt road; maybe the only road through this forest. But the vehicles were not moving, nor could Culshaw spot any Gears.

His nose caught whiff of the moist dirt and the coppery smell of…blood. Crawling back into hiding, Culshaw had returned back to, the still unconscious Alpha, Corporal Winters. The Lance Corporal had do his best to patch up the Alpha as best he could, but he feared he was bleeding internally. Culshaw knew he had to get him medical attention. _And soon! _

"Hang in there, Alpha," he began to inspect his weapons; checking the Lancer's magazine and when satisfied he slapped back the clip into the receiver. Then he checked his sidearm. "Stay put, I'll be back."

Culshaw emerged from cover, aiming the assault rifle at the convoy in a knelt position. When things seemed clear he got to his feet and sprinted to the nearest Centaur tank. Once to the tank his eyes confirmed his nose.

A shocking amount of blood smeared downward from the hatch. Bloody claw prints graffiti around the tank; which only confirmed another nightmare.

"Oh, no…" Culshaw muttered under his breath. "Wretches."

Off in the dense forest, distant shrieks filled the air. This was cue for the Lance Corporal to gather up any useful equipment and _"Get the hell out of Doge!"_

He slung the rifle over his shoulder and rushed to each armored vehicle, gathering up medical kits, satchels, and extra ammunition. He then returned to Winters and began to drag him across the muddy road. But he stopped when the foliage across the road shifted.

Culshaw drew out his Snub pistol and sounded off a couple of rounds. And immediately the shuffling ceased; but only for a minute. But that was enough time for him to continue to retreat back into the forest.

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**A/N: Like I said, I improvised for this chapter. Sorry if your disappointed. Hopefully you'll like the next chapter. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. And I'm sorry if this chapter is not good. I'm headed off to boot camp on Monday, and I couldn't quite reread this chapter. But thanks for taking the time for reading my piece. Oorah!!! **

* * *

_The Cabin…_

Corporal Harper was propped on the living room couch. Clenched in his hand were the identity tags of his fallen squad mates.

His face was covered in soot from the not-so-long ago ambush. His eyes were bloodshot from all the emotions built up inside.

SSgt White was also in the main room of the cabin. Armed with the Mulcher chain gun, White observed the forest from a window. He was completely oblivious to the Alpha sobbing on the sofa.

SSgt White could hear the creaking of the stairs. He turned to see Major Dixon enter the room. He gave a salute, which Dixon returned one.

"Statue report, Staff Sergeant," the Major requested.

"Well, sir, I haven't seen movement since we got here." White replied. "I'm hoping to get some action before we leave."

"That's what I like to hear. What about the Alpha?" Dixon asked, looking over his shoulders at the man sitting on the couch.

"He hasn't said a word, sir," White said. "Frankly, I'm concerned that he'll be a Section 8."

Section 8's were men and women in the military who has broken down under pressure and emptying their rifle magazines on whomever they saw.

"Don't worry, Staff Sergeant," Dixon said. "Just keep up the great work."

White gave a thumbs up as he walk away.

The Major wanted to create a comfortable environment for his team. He crouched in front of Corporal Harper.

"Listen, boy, crying ain't gonna bring your dead buddies back," he spat out. "So it's time to grow a pair of balls and cowboy the fuck-up! You got me?"

Harper looked in to the Major's eyes. "Yes, sir."

"Good," Dixon stood straight. "Now, be useful and cover the entrance."

Without another word, he headed for the kitchen, leaving White and the Alpha in the main room.

* * *

The Major was greeted with a salute with a salute by both Gunnery Sergeant Cruise and Corpsman Turner.

"At ease," he ordered.

The two eased up and continued to watch their post. Cruise stared out of a dirt cover window above the sink. The Corpsman crouch a meter in front of the back door.

"How you guys holding up here?"

"We're eh-okay, Maja," said Cruise. "If any Locust ugliest try and fuck with us, we'll make 'em pay dearly, sir. Any luck with the radio?"

"The El-Tee is still upstairs working on it." Dixon assured. "Keep strong, Gunny."

"Aye aye, sir!" Cruise bellowed out.

"Where's the Corporal?"

The Corpsman gestured to a narrow door half open. "He's counting the food supply."

"Food supply?" Dixon muttered.

He walked into a large pantry room with three shelves lining all walls. Corporal Colton was in the center, organizing each canned food. He turned and held up a can already in his hand.

"Canned beef. Have you ever heard of such a thing, sir?"

"No, I haven't, Corporal," he lied.

"There's food to last us three weeks!"

"Well, Corporal, I don't plan on staying that long. Distribute a few out to the team."

"Aye aye, sir," Colton gathered as much as he could in his arm and exited the pantry.

Dixon grabbed the canned beef, and remembered the days during the Pendulum wars.

* * *

Lieutenant Jacobs was stooped on the damaged radio pack.

"Piece of shit!" he said and nudged it with his foot. The radio tipped over a bit and fell hard against the floor. That caused Jacobs to jump up and check what more damage it had received.

"Damn it!" he smacked the side and decided to relax on the master bed. He closed his eyes and embraced the silence, which was shortly lived.

A knocked on the door caused the Lieutenant to rise. He then snapped to attention and gave a salute to the Major.

Dixon gave a salute back. "So, how's the radio coming along, Lieutenant?"

Jacobs sighed. "Well sir, the radio is fried. I'm afraid I can't fix it. It must have gotten damaged when we jumped off the rig."

"Yeah," Dixon said. "I figured that much. Do you know where we are?"

"No. I'd ask the Gunny, sir," Jacobs admitted. "He specializes in coordination and survival."

The Major was about to speak until a terrible crash interrupted him, followed by a cry of his name.

The two leapt up and raced downstairs. There, they saw the Alpha at the entrance, his rifle trained on the man blocking the door- Lieutenant Colonel Kinsley. At that moment, Jacobs leveled his own rifle at the Alpha.

"Corporal Harper!" Dixon shouted. "What his your malfunction!?"

As he took step by step down the staircase, Dixon spotted four of his troops training their rifles on the Alpha.

"I'm doing what you told me to do, sir," Harper answered. "I'm cowboying the fuck up! I'm gonna kill as many of those Grub bastards as I can!"

"And how does this concern the Lieutenant Colonel, boy!?" Dixon asked, as he drew out his Snub pistol and aiming directly at the back of Harper's head.

"He's only an obstacle, sir," Harper replied. "He won't step outta my path!"

Tension began to rise, Dixon could feel it. A bloodbath would soon erupt.

"Corporal Harper," Kinsley said. "Don't be so stupid! Throwing your life away for revenge is foolish! Is that what your friends would want you to do? Is this what your family expect of you?"

"My mind is made up," Harper said. "Now get outta my way, Lieutenant Colonel."

Kinsley stood firm.

"No? Then I'm sorry, sir." Harper swiftly hit the butt of his rifle against Kinsley's head, knocking him to the floor.

Harper then forced the door open. It swung wide, the hinges squeaking, the door slammed hard against the wall.

He took a step out, ready to engage the enemy. Suddenly, there was a crackle in the air and Corporal Harper fell back into the cabin. His hands clenched his throat, a pool of blood formed under his head.

In reflex, Cruise and White fired off controlled burst in the direction of the sniper. Cruise then slammed the door shut.

Despite his actions earlier, everyone gathered around the Alpha and tried comforting him. The young soldier's eye darted frantically at the people around him. He coughed out blood, tears quickly formed in his eyes. His grip tightened around his throat, the liquid life oozed from the large fleshy hole in his neck. He struggled to speak but only gurgled out more blood.

"Don't talk," Kinsley bade the young man.

Corpsman Turner searched through his utility bet for adhesive bandages to stop the bleeding.

Boots came crashing down the stairway. Dixon turned to see Captain Sheppard and PFC Alyssa staring at the thrashing Alpha.

"Sheppard, guard the kitchen," Dixon ordered, then turned to Cruise and Colton. "You two, go with him!"

They nodded and followed the Captain.

"Jacobs, White, you two take position in the main room. Alyssa, hold here. Whatever comes through that door, put two in its chest and one in its head. You got that?"

"Yes, sir!" she said and knelt beside the stairwell.

Dixon knew the boy would not survive. He patted the Corpsman on the shoulder, and said, "Don't." He then proceeded upstairs.

Harper's kicking feet began to lessen, his eyelids fluttered and his breathing shallow. At that moment, Turner had ceased his attempts in saving the Alpha.

"What are you doing?" Kinsley asked, confusion displaying clear on his face.

"I can't save him." was the answer Turner gave. "He's lost to much blood."

Kinsley looked down to the dying Harper. For a few more seconds, he continued to breathe. Then, finally, Harper's chest ceased to move. He was dead.

Kinsley tore his gaze from the lifeless body to the blood covered hands that were now trembling. _What do I do now? _he asked himself. _The enemy is now waiting on the doorstep!_

* * *

Solemn loaded in a second projectile into his long range _Boomstick_. He grinned at the successful shot he had made. Then decided to relocate.

He climbed up a tall tree with thick branches and nestled there, waiting for another opportunity.

**A/N: Thanks again for reading.**


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